Black gold...

Rapids • Deals • News • Takaful • Asset Management • Ratings • Moves
11th March 2015 (Volume 12 Issue 10)
Black gold... Oil prices are one of the most compelling and characteristic trends of the previous six months, and their volatility has rocked the still-fragile financial markets across borders; with knock-on effects rippling throughout the global markets. In this week’s cover story, we take a look at the specific impact of this turbulence on the Islamic finance sector: from Sukuk issuance to institutional performance, to assess the future prospects of this most valuable of commodities. Our IFN reports look at the exciting opportunities in Taiwan and Japan while our correspondents come to you from the UAE, Pakistan, Egypt, Nigeria and Qatar. Our in-house analyses assess both Sri Lanka and the leasing sector, while we have special reports from Kuwait Finance House on Salaf bonds and ISRA on Bangladesh as well as from Amana Bank on SMEs. Feature contributions this week are brought to you from Amanie Advisors on Kazakhstan. The markets may be stormy, but smooth seas never made strong sailors. We wish all our readers blue skies and calm waters for the coming week. Cover Story Falling oil prices: A blessing in disguise? Oil price volatility was the big news of 2014, and despite a minor recovery the ongoing market turbulence continues to be a key trend for the current year – affecting everything from international relations to intra-bank trading. But what impact is this really having on the Islamic financial markets? LAUREN MCAUGHTRY talks to the market to assess the influence of this instability on everything from issuance to institutions – and discovers that the picture may not be as black as it’s painted… IFN Reports • IFN Awards 2014 in Kuala Lumpur attracts Islamic finance industry’s top leaders • IFN Global Trendswatch • Feeling the peer pressure: Taiwan • Exciting Islamic finance opportunities ahead for Japan • Luxembourg beyond its inaugural Sukuk • Turkiye Finans eyes international market • Sovereign Sukuk: Asia and the UAE • Bahrain and Oman look to Sukuk amid tumbling oil prices • IFN Weekly Poll: Following the issuance of Central Bank of Nigeria's guidelines on the establishment of an advisory body for Islamic banking in country, will we see more Islamic finance activities in the country this year? • BLME: Achieving greater momentum IFN Country Correspondents • Towards developing a global Islamic economy • SECP — A new vision under new leadership • Egyptian investment conference highly anticipated • Qatar: Financial sector holds up • Central Bank of Nigeria adopts centralized system of Shariah advisory body IFN Country Analysis • Sri Lanka: Good things to come IFN Sector Analysis • Leasing: A continuous preference in the Islamic finance scene Shariah Pronouncement An Islamic bank has launched a product based on Salam in order to provide cash finance for its retail and corporate customers Case Study Turkish Treasury’s TRY1.8 billion (US$716.09 million) Sukuk The Turkish Treasury 2015 successfully made a TRY1.8 billion (US$716.09 million) Sukuk issuance on the 18th February 2015. Holding a tenor of two years, the paper carries a coupon rate of 3.9% and was issued for budgetary purposes. Special Reports In numbers: Islamic banking in Bangladesh As one of the earliest Islamic banking player in the region, Bangladesh has the advantage of experience and demographics. However has the South Asian republic lived up to its Shariah banking potential? DR ROMZIE ROSMAN and MEZBAH UDDIN AHMED explore the issue using hard facts and figures Forget about Sukuk, it’s time to talk about Salaf bonds! It would have been unimaginable a few years ago to talk about negative bond yields much less witness this phenomenon happening right before our eyes. The reality is that today we are seeing an increasing number of bonds in Europe and Japan falling into negative yield territory. In light of this development, TARIQ ALRIFAI proposes an alternative Shariah compliant structure which he argues has more appeal than negative yield bonds. Solutions to SME challenges from an Islamic finance perspective Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have a significant role in employment creation and national productivity especially in the case of developing countries. In this article NUMAIR CASSIM highlights the constraints faced by SMEs especially in developing countries to actively contribute towards national development and discusses solutions which the Islamic finance industry could offer to overcome such constraints. Feature Implementation: the second round Kazakhstan is a Muslim country, located in the heart of Eurasia and one of the Central Asian states, with a 70-year history under the Soviet Union. With a total Muslim population of 70 million, EDIGE ALPYSBAY writes that the country possesses great potential for Islamic finance.  CONTACTS Editorial: Sasikala Thiagaraja Direct Line: +603 2163 7800 ext 34 Finance: Faizah Hassan Direct Line: +603 2162 7800 ext 26 Sales: Dubai: Geraldine Chan Direct Line: +971 4 427 3628 Kuala Lumpur: Steve Stubbs Direct Line: +603 2162 7800 ext 55 Subscriptions: Dubai: Mithun Gangolli Direct Line: +971 4 427 3638 Kuala Lumpur: Siti Amilia Amir Amzah Direct Line: +603 2162 7800 ext 27